Furnace stoker



Apr. 24, 1923.

R. S. RILEY FURNACE STOKER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed dune ll 1920 AWN wm mm wm mm mm mm i F? mm .E M it Q i w m WQ H Phtentod Apr- 24, 1923.

UNITED'STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ROBERT SANFORD RILEY, OF WORCESTER. MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO MURPHY IRON WORKS, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

v FURNACE STOKER.

Application filed June 11, 1920. Serial No. 388,240.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, ROBERT SANFORD RILEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in F urnace Stokers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to fuel feeding or stoking mechanisms adapted more particu: larly, but not exclusively, for advancing or delivering the coal to the upper ends of inclined grates down which it travels during its combustion or consumption. The improvements are of advantage and benefit in furnaces of the so-called Murphy type with V-shaped grates having alternate rocking grate-bars with intermediate stationary grate-bars, although they may be employed with favorable and profitable result-s in other or similar relations.

The prime object and leading purpose of the invention is the provision ofsimple and economically constructed means which will 26 effectively fed the fuel in such a manner as I to break up the larger coked masses or prevent their formation, resulting in improved fuel bed conditions and better and more complete combustion. This is secured by using stoker-boxes and operating them in a manner to produce lines or planes of cleavage to fracture or prevent the formation of large masses of coke thus enabling a better and more efiicient passage of air thru the body of fuel.

Stated somewhat differently, the coal is fed to a continuous or uninterrupted fuel bed simultaneously in masses or small charges separated from one another lengthwise such bed and then other bodies or quantities of coal betwen those thus fed are simultaneously delivered to the fuel bed, and'this alternating operation is continued indefinitely. B thus feeding the coal in spaced or divide bodies, their delivery to the fuel bed or grate tends to shear-or break up the coked masses previously formed hence enabling the air to pass through the bed more readily with resulting improved combustion. Obviously this method of charging the fuel on to the grate is in contra-distinction to those types of apparatus design coal substantially or practically continuously and also those forms of mechanisms which feed the whole charge of fuel to the ed to feed the entire length of the fuel bed at one time. It will be readily understood that in neither of these styles of stokers is there such a shearing or fracturing action on the coked masses as results from the employment of a stoker mechanism embodying the present inventlon.

In order that those skilled in this art may have a full and complete understanding of this invention, both from structural and functional standpoints, I have illustrated a preferred and desirable embodiment of the same in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, which should be considered in connection with the following detailed description, and throughout the several views of which like reference characters refer to the same parts.

In these drawings;

Figure 1' is a plan view of the improved stoker or fuel supplying mechanism;

Figure 2- is a longitudinal vertical section through the same on line 22 of Figure 4;

Figure 3 is a face view of the driving confiection' with the reciprocating operating Figure 4 is an enlarged cross-section on line 4-4 of Figure 2 showing the stoker mechanism in association with the lower portion of the fuel-magazine, the cokingplate over which it reciprocates, and the upper section of the inclined grate to which the coal is delivered; and

Figure 5 is another vertical cross-section on line 5-5 of Figure 2 near the front of the furnace showing a portion of the driving connections.

By reference to Figure 4, it will be seen that the lower part of throat 10 of the fuelmagazine 11 has beneath it, and spaced away therefrom, as is customary, a sectional deadplate or coking-plate 12 composed of a suitable number of relatively short sections of plates, in the present instance six, angleshape in cross-section. The adjacent inclined grate 13 to the upper portion of which the coal from the coking-plate is delivered, as is usual, is composed of alternate rocking and stationary grate-bars, the movable bars of which are actuated by means, not shown, but well known in the art.

The several aligned, contiguous, angle sections of the dead or coking plate 12 arranged end to end have their depending flanges 14 bolted or otherwise suitably faschamber. The construction also includes an opposed angle-bar 17, similarly forming parts ofthe flue walls, the space or gap between the adjacent horizontal flanges of both angle-bars being closed or covered-by a plate 18. This combined coking-plate and underlyin flue includes in addition a series of aligne or registering castings 19 having depending flanges 20 bolted to the upright flange of angle-bar 17 and horizontal flanges 21 beneath and bolted to the edge or marginal portions of the corresponding COl-- ing-plate sections 12, such castings having saddles or bearings 22 for the reception of a lengthwise-disposed operating shaft 23. At the front part of the furnace where no coal is fed over the air-flue 16, the latter is covered by a casting 50 having bearings 51 integral therewith for the support of the corresponding part of the rock-shaft 23. (See Fig. 5.)

Fastened to the under faces of the two angle-bars 15 and 17 I employ brackets 24, and to the castings 19 and such brackets I secure one or more side-wall plates 25.

A plurality or series of directly adjacent stoker-boxes or fuel-pushers 26 and 27 arranged end to end slide sideways on the top surfaces of the coking-plate sections and on plates 28 above and fastened to the castings 19. Internally each of such stoker-boxes. which is open only in its bottom face, has two apertured or recessed bearing-blocks 29 near its opposite ends which receive round ed terminal portions of the corresponding oscillatory operating arms. Each of the alternating stoker-boxes 26, 26 (second, fourth, and sixth for example) is recipr0- cated by a pair of such rock-arms 30. 30 fastened in any approved manner to the oscillatory shaft 23, the remaining alternate Stoker-boxes 27, 27 (first, third and fifth) being similarly actuated by other rock-arms 31, 31 curved or bowed at 32 to extend around or escape conflict with the shaft 23, and fixed to a second longitudinally-ar ranged rock-shaft 33 oscillatory in bearings 34 on the under sides of the supporting brackets 24.

As is customary in furnaces of the Murphy or overfeed type, the upper shaft 23 extends forwardly (see Fig. 2) through the furnace face-plate 35 in front of which its squared or angular end 36 is equipped with an arm 37 detachably and loosely connected by a link 38 to a pin or stud 39 outstanding from a power-driven reciprocatory bar 40 extended across the front of the furnace and actuated by a small steam-engine, electric-motor, or other suitable source of power, I

not shown.

The rocking movements of shaft 23 given to it by this mechanism are transmitted to the companion or complementary shaft 33 by means of the connection illustrated in Figures 2 and 5, comprising an arm 41 clamped fixedly to the shaft and connectedby a short link 42 to the upper end ofa lever 43 fulcrum ed at 44 in a suitable support or bearing 45, the lower end of the lever, by means of another bifurcated link 46, being operatively associated with an arm 47 rigid with shaft 33. v

The co-operating instrumentalities of the mechanism are so arranged and associated together that when one set or group of alternate Stoker-boxes or fuel-pushers is advancing to feed the coal which has descended from the magazine onto the dead or cokingplate in front of them over its edge onto the upper section of he inclined grate, the other collection or set of alternate fuelushers is receding, whereby-more or less de 'nite lines or zones of cleavage or division are present in register with the joints between the boxes, resulting in an effective and efficient subdivision or breaking up of the masses of coke or coalesced fuel, enabling the air to pass properly through the fuel-bed and preventing the occurrence of bare spots on .the grate, the fuel feed down the grate being rendered steady and substantially uniform.

Stated otherwise, spaced bands or ribbons of coal are fed forward at the same time, and subsequently the strips or bodies of fuel between the positons of such bands pr ribbons before their advance are pushed forwardly, this operation being repeated indefinitely, that is continuing without interruption. By thus feeding segregated charges of coal simultaneously and then feeding for wardly intervening bodies of fuel directly to a continuous fuel bed, the coke is effectively broken up facilitating combustion.

From an understanding of this improved construction and its mode of functioning. the manner in which the desired objects and purposes of the invention are attained will be readily comprehended. one salient feature being the form of fuel feeding to secure a better bed of fuel on the grate and more uniform and economical consumption of coal. It should be observed. also that the structure is such that it may be readily incorporated in a standard Murphy type of furnace with but the addition of few parts of simple structure coupled to the remaining portion of the mechanism to secure the required transmission of power therethrough.

The strokes of all of the Stoker-boxes may be ofequal length, if desired, but ordinarily, owing to the unequal consumption of coal on the grate, it is preferableto give at least some of suchjfuel-pushers different amounts of travel byprovidi-ng more or less lost motion between the rocker-arms and 31 and the blocks 29 with which they cooperate, as for instance by using blocks'with apertures or recesses of slightly diflerent dimensions. l v 1 The invention is not limited .andjfe st-ricted to the precise and exact niechanieiil l details of structure illustrated and described because these may be changed or "mfodified within comparatively wide limits, without departure from the heart and essence of the invention and without the sacrifice of any of its substantial benefits and advantages, that is to say, the invention is susceptible of a variety of embodiments differing considerably in structure but all incorporating the main underlying principles of the invention.

I claim: v 1. In a fuel-stoking mechanism of the character described, the combination of a fuel-magazine, a coking-plate beneath said 'magazine adapted to receive the fuel therefrom,an inclined grate adjacent to said coking-plate}a plurality OfstoI er-bOXeS arranged directly adjacent to one another endwise'in a row and adapted to feed the fuel from the coking-plate to the grate, a shaft disposed longitudinallyvof such row, operating means connecting said shaftto the alternate Stoker-boxes of the row to effect similar simultaneous movements of such stokerboxes, a second shaft parallel to the first shaft, operating means connectingsaid second shaft to the remaining alternate stokerboxes of the row to effect similar simultaneous movements of such Stoker-boxes, and means to rock said shafts to alternately advance the twosets of Stoker-boxes;

2. In a fuel-stoking mechanism of the" character described, the combination of a fuel-magazine, a coking-plate beneath said magazine adapted toreceive the fuel therefrom, an inclined grate adjacent to said coking-plate, a plurality of Stoker-boxes arranged directly adjacent to one another endwise in a row and adapted to-feed the fuel from the cokinglate to the grate, a shaft disposed longitudinally of such row, operating means connecting said shaft to the alterna'te\ Stoker-boxes of the row to effect similar simultaneous movements of such stolter-boxes and with unequal strokes of at least some of said Stoker-boxes, a second shaft parallel to the first shaft, 'operating' means connecting said second shaft to the remaining alternate Stoker-boxes of the row to effect similar simultaneous movements of such Stoker-boxes and with unequal strokes of at least some of said stoker-boxes, and means to rock said shafts to alternately advance the two sets of alternate Stoker-boxes.

3. In a fuel-stoking' mechanism of the character described,the combination of a fuel-magazine, a coking-plate beneath said magazine adapted to receive the'fuel therefrom, an; inclined grate adjacent to the coking-plate, a plurality of Stoker-boxes arranged directlyqadj acent to one another endwise in a row and adapted to feed the fuel from thecoking-plate to the grate, a shaft disposed longitudinally of such row, operating means connecting said shaft to the alternate Stoker-boxes of the row to effect similar simultaneous movements of such stokerboxes, a second shaft parallel to the first shaft, operating means connecting said second shaft to the remainin alternate Stoker-boxes of' the row'to effect similar simultaneous movements of such stokerboxes, and means to simultaneously rock said shafts in opposite directions to alternately advance thevtwo sets of alternate stoker-boxes.

4. In a.

final-stoking mechanism of the character described, the combination of a the alternate Stoker-boxes of the row 'arranged to effect similar'simultaneous movements of such Stoker-boxes and with unequal strokes of at least some of said Stoker-boxes, a second oscillatory shaft parallel to said first shaft, arms on said second shaft curved to escape said first shaft and cooperating with the remaining alternate Stoker-boxes of the row and arranged to effect similar simultaneous movements of such Stoker-boxes and with unequal strokes of at least some of '10 said stokenboxes, means connecting said shafts together to cause their simultaneous v oscillation in opposite directions, and means to rock one of said shafts to effect the alternate advance of Stoker-boxes.

ROBERT SANFORD RILEY.

the two sets of alternate 

